Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Posted below is a press release that I sent out today
regarding a sex offender registry board reform bill that was heard by the Joint
Committee on the Judiciary this afternoon:

Senator Tarr calls for Sex Offender
Registry Board reforms

Testifies on several public safety bills
at Judiciary Committee hearing

BOSTON –Senate Minority
Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) testified before the Legislature’s Joint
Committee on the Judiciary this afternoon, calling for the passage of
legislation that will enhance information-sharing among the state’s public
safety agencies and ensure that sex offenders are properly classified and
monitored.

Tarr is the lead sponsor of Senate
Bill 815, An Act Enhancing Assessment Information of the Sexual Offender
Registration Board, which has the bi-partisan support of 26 House and Senate
members, including the entire Senate Republican Caucus and many Democrats who
have signed on as co-sponsors.The bill
was filed following the December 2012 indictment of Wakefield resident John Burbine,
who was classified as a Level 1 offender despite being the subject of several
investigations since 1989 and is now facing multiple counts of child sexual
abuse.

“For too long our systems for
dealing with sex offenders have tolerated a lack of information, a lack of
transparency, a lack of communication between those charged with protecting us,
and a lack of proper tools to access, classify and reclassify those who have
committed these crimes,” said Tarr.“Now, the Legislature must act, in a responsible and effective way, to
empower citizens, law enforcement officials and the Sex Offender Registry Board
to strengthen public safety and prevent victimization.The Judiciary Committee has before it bills
of ample number and scope to get the job done, and it’s imperative that it move
as soon as possible to action.”

Highlights of Senate Bill 815
include:

·a requirement and authorization for law
enforcement agencies and prosecutors to communicate with the Sex Offender
Registry Board (SORB) in a timely fashion about the commitment of subsequent
offenses by a registered sex offender;

·the legal authority of the SORB to re-classify
sex offenders based on new information, which was taken away by the
Massachusetts Court of Appeals on July 16, 2012 in its ruling in the case of John Doe 16748 v. Sex Offender Registry
Board (Docket Number 11-P-308);

·the ability of the SORB to expedite the
re-classification process of a sexual offender upon the recommendation of law
enforcement and prosecutors; and

·a requirement for the timely re-classification
of sex offenders who have committed subsequent offenses

In addition to Senate Bill 815,
Tarr is sponsoring several other sex offender bills on behalf of Protect Mass
Children that were heard by the Judiciary Committee today, including:

·Senate Bill 802, which would require out of
state classified sex offenders who enter Massachusetts to register with the
SORB within two days of moving into the Commonwealth, and would require that
this information be shared with the local police department in which the sex
offender resides;

·Senate Bill 803, which would impose a mandatory
minimum of: 30 years in prison for the forcible rape of a child; 45 years in
prison for the forcible rape of a child with a firearm; and life in prison
without parole for any second or subsequent offense by a person over the age of
18;

·Senate Bill 804, which would impose a mandatory
minimum of life imprisonment with no parole for any person convicted three or
more times for any sex offense against a child, person with disabilities,
mental handicap, or elder;

·Senate Bill 805, which would eliminate the
statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, with a three-year retroactive
window;

·Senate Bill 811, which would require information
on all registered sex offenders (Levels 1, 2 and 3) to be provided by the SORB
to the public, both online and at local police departments; and

·Senate Bill 814, which would extend from 60 to
90 days the time frame in which the SORB must notify the offender of his right
to submit evidence of his risk of re-offense/dangerousness prior to the
offender's scheduled release from prison, and limit the time the offender has
to submit the evidence to the board to 30 days.

###

Several of these bills are supported by Protect
Mass Children.To learn more about them
you can visit their website by clicking here.

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